Boys Set Fire With Shirt

Flames Evict 2 Families

August 07, 1992|by CHUCK AYERS, The Morning Call

Two boys playing with a cigarette lighter started a fire in their second-floor apartment at 635 N. 4th St., Allentown, yesterday afternoon, chasing two families from their homes and leaving the converted twin home uninhabitable.

No injuries were reported.

The boys, ages 5 and 6, lit a shirt and threw it in Oscar Hernandez's front living room closet, according to Fire Inspector John Butz.

"He (the 5-year-old) got a glass of water and tried to put it out, but it didn't work out for him, I guess, and it just went from there," Butz said.

Hernandez and his two sons, who live on the second and third floors of the three-story white brick building on the east side of the street, fled the building. The building owner and Oscar's brother, Jose Hernandez, live on the first floor. He evacuated, too, according to Butz.

"The room was paneled, and when that paneling caught fire it took off," Butz said.

Deputy Fire Chief Herb Ring said when firefighters arrived shortly after 1:20 p.m., the heat created by the paneling on the second floor nearly caused the fire to jump to the third floor.

"It was going pretty good. The third floor was just about ready to ignite in a backdraft," Ring said.

Firefighters ventilated the third floor immediately by knocking out the windows, letting the heat and gas buildup escape.

"It's like having a chimney with a lid on the top. The heat was so bad it was coming into the first floor already. TVs were melted on the third floor," Ring said.

Once the heat buildup was relieved, Ring said, firefighters brought the blaze under control within 15 to 20 minutes.

The fire damage was contained to the front living room and a portion of the hallway. Smoke damaged the building throughout, and the second and third floors received water damage.

The other half of the twin, 633 N. 4th St., also had some smoke damage.

Butz said fire damage did not destroy the structural integrity of the home.

"They should be able to get back in there in a couple months. There was no structural damage," Butz said.

The Lehigh Valley chapter of the American Red Cross was notified that the families needed temporary shelter, Butz said.

In addition to the Central station, Hibernia and EMS crews responded. A fire truck and crew from the East Side station stood on fire watch for several hours to assure the fire didn't rekindle, Butz said.